Method and call set up server for setting up a call using a call handling portion and a connection handling portion to handle the call and the connection, respectively

ABSTRACT

A communication system is provided for transferring broadband multimedia data through a network. The system includes network terminals, a transmission backbone, and a call set-up server. The call set-up server controls call handling and connection handling or channel allocation. Channel allocation is handled separately from call control, enabling upgrading of connection handling hardware and software without affecting the rest of the system.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of multimedia technology, there is a demand for a systemwhich supports multimedia applications on a network, for example a LocalArea Network (LAN). Such a system would need to transfer digital audioand video data quickly and easily across the LAN.

One system which provides multimedia applications on a network is theIsochronous Ethernet or IsoEthernet. The IsoEthernet is a new LAN accesstechnology specified by the IEEE 802.9 committee which enables digitalaudio and video data to be sent easily across a LAN. The IsoEthernetovercomes the bandwidth and data transfer rate constraints of a LAN andenables isochronous transmission of data at fixed intervals with littleor no delay, within a LAN, which is referred to as an Isochronous LAN orIsoLAN. The IsoEthernet enables video and audio traffic to betransferred easily across a LAN for such multimedia applications asvideo conferencing, interactive presentations, etc.

The IsoEthernet is compatible with the 10BasetT ethernet in the 10Megabits per second packet mode. The 10BaseT is the most common ethernetand uses an unshielded twisted pair of wires as physical media. TheIsoEthernet is easy to install by inserting a new network interface card(NIC) and replacing or upgrading a hub. No rewiring is necessary, andthe resulting network can still handle traditional packetized data.

A LAN with IsoEthernet user access is called an IsoEthernet system. Anexample of an IsoEthernet system is depicted in FIG. 1. According toFIG. 1, two IsoEthernet terminals 100 can communicate with each other orwith a public network through a communication system 105. TheIsoEthernet terminal 100 is a personal computer (PC) with an IsoEthernetNetwork Interface Card (NIC) that is used for various multimediaapplications, e.g. video conferences. A plurality of IsoEthernetterminals 100 are commonly used in an IsoEthernet system, as depicted inFIG. 1. The communication system 105 typically employs structuredsoftware to control the communication between the terminals 100 and thepublic network, which includes the transfer of multimedia data as wellas the ordering and interaction of services such as call forwarding,multimedia interactive conferencing, etc.

There are several problems that arise due to the use of the structuredsoftware in the communication system 105. One problem is how to separatethe behavior of the terminal and the interface from the service orderedvia the interface, so that a new terminal can be added, withoutaffecting the existing service. Another problem is how data should betransferred between the parties.

Yet another consideration is how new services can be added or how oldservices can be removed or modified, or new access parts can be addedwithout affecting the existing services or access parts. For instance, anew service may not be able to be added without affecting alreadyimplemented services, which complicates the interactions betweenservices. Similarly, removing services and adding or removing accessparts may affect already implemented services and access parts.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a multimedianetwork which easily transmits audio and video data while permittingconnection handling hardware software and supplementary services to beeasily upgraded and modified.

According to the invention, a system is provided which permits thetransfer of broadband multimedia data through a network. The systemincludes network terminals, a hub, a network management system, and acall set-up server. The call set-up server controls call handling andconnection handling.

According to one aspect of the invention, the call set-up serverincludes an access part, a user part, and a central part. The centralpart sets up a call between parties in the system and operatesindependently from the access part and the user part. This enables a newaccess part to be added without affecting the existing central part.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the call set-up servercontrols call handling separately from connection handling. This enablesupgrading of connection handling hardware and software without affectingthe rest of the system.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the call set-up serverincludes a service pointer, in addition to an access part, a user part,and a central part. The service pointer permits supplementary servicesto be added, removed or modified and permits access parts to be added ormodified, without affecting already existing services and accesses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of reference to the exemplaryembodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional multimedia communication system.

FIG. 2 depicts a multimedia communication system according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a simple model of the functionality of a call set-up serveraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts the interfaces of the call set-up server according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 shows the software architecture of the call set-up serveraccording to a first aspect of the invention;

FIG. 6 depicts a call path and a connection path in an IsoEthernetsystem according to a second aspect of the invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a functional view of the call path and connection path ina call set-up server according to a second aspect of the invention;

FIG. 8 depicts the software architecture of the call set-up serveraccording to a third aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 9 depicts call set-up server software architecture employing thehalf call principle according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 depicts a functional view of the half call principle in anetwork, from a call set-up server perspective, according to the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 11A and 11B are flow charts illustrating how a call is transferredbetween a transmitting point and a destination point, and how an answeris transferred from the destination point to the transmitting point,according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An IsoEthernet system according to the present invention is illustratedin FIG. 2. The IsoEthernet system is divided into three main parts: theIsoEthernet terminal 100, the IsoEthernet hub 200, and the call set-upserver 300. The IsoEthernet terminal 100 is the same type of terminalused in the communication system depicted in FIG. 1. A plurality ofIsoEthernet terminals may be used in the IsoEthernet system, howeveronly two are shown in FIG. 2 for simplicity of illustration.

The IsoEthernet hub 200 consists of a Business Premises Network (BPN)hub including at least one Broadband Interface Module (BIM) 210 withIsoEthernet terminals 100 connected to it. Two BIMs are shown in FIG. 2for illustrative purposes, however one or several BIMs may be includedin a BPN hub. The BIM 210 is connected to other BIMs across thetransmission backbone 400, which may be, for example, a twisted pair ofwires.

The BIM 210 contains an access unit (AU) 220 and a control module. TheAU 220 includes switches manipulated by the call set-up server 300 forseparating the call control signalling information from the datasignalling information and handling the transport of data.

The call set-up server 300 handles call control for the isochronous partof the IsoEthernet. The call set-up server 300 is connected to theIsoEthernet hub 200 via both the normal ethernet and the IsoEthernet.The ethernet connection is used to transport the call control signallinginformation and to connect and disconnect the switches in the AU 220.The IsoEthernet connection is used as a data path for routingIsoEthernet calls to or from the ISDN/Wide Area Network (WAN) and withinthe BPN hub.

Also included in the IsoEthernet system is a Network Management System(NMS) 500 and a router 600. The NMS 500 operates in conjunction with amanagement application in the call set-up server 300 to manage thenetwork. The router 600 routes Ethernet packet data traffic over theWAN.

A main purpose of the call set-up server 300 is to control isochronouscircuit-switched variable bandwidth calls over the Business PremisesNetworks (BPN). The call set-up server 300 controls and routes callsbased on the information in the signalling channels of the user andnetwork interfaces, and connects/disconnects the calls by operating theswitches in the AU 220 of the BIM 210.

During call set-up by the call set-up server 300, a destination numberis analyzed to determine if it is a valid number. To reach thedestination in the IsoLAN or the WAN, resources are reserved andallocated, and the switches are controlled to connect the call. In thecase of a call to the WAN, the user categories are checked to see if therequested call is allowed to be set up.

The call set-up server 300 can be hosted on a PC with an OS/2 operatingsystem or other operating systems. The call set-up server in anIsoEthernet system consists of software and dedicated hardware. The PCplatform provides the general hardware. The software can be implementedin Erlang and ANSI C, or other programming languages can be used. Mostof the traffic and management applications are typically written inErlang. The hardware drivers, some protocol stacks and the Erlangemulator are typically written in C.

The call set-up server is a vital part of the IsoEthernet system. Itcontrols calls from one IsoEthernet terminal to another IsoEthernetterminal, or from an IsoEthernet terminal to a terminal in the WAN, andvice versa.

FIG. 3 depicts a simple model of the functionality of the call set-upserver 300. Referring to FIG. 3, the call set-up server 300 includes acall handling portion 310, a connection handling portion 320, a useraccess portion 330, a network access portion 340, and a managementportion 350. The call handling portion 310 controls the call itself andorders connections from the connection handling portion 320 viainterface 315. Currently, the call set-up server 300 provides basic callhandling with variable bandwidth for IsoEthernet users and ISDN networkcalls. Future call handling modules may contain supplementary callhandling functionality.

The user access portion 330 and the network access portion 340facilitate communication between a user and a network, e.g., a WAN. Theuser access portion 330 and network access portion 340 include theaccess related parts and user related parts for the user and network,respectively. The user access portion is connected to the IsoEthernetterminal 100 via an interface 110. Currently, an ISDN network accesswith inverse multiplexing, i.e. bonding of separate channels together toprovide a wide bandwidth, is supported by the call set-up server 300,offering synchronization of more than one channel. Future versions willsupport more ISDN dialects.

The connection handling portion 320 contains a map of the localtransport network and routing information to other networks. Uponrequest from the call handling portion 310, with the help of connectionreference points, required bandwidth, and quality of service, theconnection handling portion 320 reserves and connects a path between thetwo endpoints of a call through the network. It is possible todisconnect an established connection and still keep the allocatedresources reserved. It is also possible to release the reservedresources.

The connection handling portion 320 also controls the connection of theequipment and the switches. The connection handling portion 320 consistsof a generic part and infrastructure specific parts specificallyimplemented for the BIMs.

The user access and connection handling functions are divided betweenthe call set-up server 300 and the AU 220. The AU 220 separates the callcontrol signalling from the connection (data path) and forwards thesignalling to the call set-up server 300. The connection handlingportion 310 in the call set-up server 300 operates the switches in theAU 220.

The call set-up server 300 has several logical interfaces, as depictedin FIG. 4. Interface 1 is a D-channel signalling interface according theIEEE 802.9a IsoEthernet specification, incorporated herein by reference.Interface 1 provides a connection to the user terminals 100 in thenetwork and a control interface to the access unit hardware used forswitch control according to IsoEthernet access unit protocol. Interface2 is a management interface to the NMS 500. Interface 2 providessupports Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for system monitoringand Proprietary Management Protocol (PMP) for configuration of thesystem and its extensions. On both interfaces 1 and 2, TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) on ethernet is used totransport the information.

The call set-up server 300 also includes interfaces 3 and 4. Interface3, which is physically part of interface 2, is a B-channel connectionfrom the call set-up server 300 to the access unit 220 for the WANtraffic, using the isochronous part of the IsoEthernet. Interface 4 is aconnection from the call set-up server 300 to the WAN.

FIG. 5 shows the software architecture of the call set-up server 300according to a first aspect of the present invention. The call set-upserver software architecture includes three fundamental entities: theaccess related part 360, the user related part 370 and the central part380. The access related part 360 and the user related part 370 are partof the user access portion 330. The central part 380 is part of the callhandling portion 310.

The access related part 360 represents the physical equipment. Itcontains data information and information about call services. The datainformation represents the physical equipment used by the user andenables the access related part to communicate with the equipment. Thedata information also includes interface resource information andinformation corresponding to all levels of the communication protocoland the behavior of the external equipment as seen by the system. Theservice information enables the access related part to handle ordering aservice and determining how a reply should be represented to theterminal. The access related part 360 first handles the externalinterface, then handles the terminal's behavior. The access related part360 terminates the interface protocol and controls the resources orchannels in the interface.

The user related part 370 represents the user and handles restrictionson the user to order services. It contains data information and serviceinformation. The data information represents the user and includesinformation such as the directory number and categories. The userrelated part 370 uses the service information to perform the userdependent part of a service. The user related part 370 is related to theequipment the user uses, and selects a service based on the informationit contains and the signalling from the terminal. The user related part370 performs independently of the behavior and characteristics of theaccess related part 360.

The central part 380 contains information about the service which isindependent of the data information representing the behavior andcharacteristics of the physical equipment and user. The central part isnot affected when new user and access related parts 360, 370 are addedor removed. The central part 380 controls the call itself and ordersconnection and disconnection of the data path in the connectionhandling. This part orders the connection between entities irrespectiveof what the entities represent.

Connecting the access related part to the user related part and the userrelated part to the central part are predetermined interfaces, 365 and375, respectively. These interfaces contain software that permitsinteraction between the parts. The interfaces also prevent functions tobe carried out in the wrong parts, e.g. the interfaces avoid functionsdedicated to the access part from being carried out in the user part,and vice versa.

The software architecture of the call set-up server according to thefirst aspect of the present invention, as depicted in FIG. 5, permitsthe central part 380 to set up a call between parties in the systemindependently from the access part 360 and the user part 370. Thisarchitecture permits the service to handled simply, without having totake into consideration the characteristics and behavior of the accesspart and the user part. Additionally, according to the first aspect ofthe invention, when a new access is added to the system and this accesshas the same functional behavior as an existing access, only a newaccess part needs to be developed to handle the new access, and theexisting user and central parts may be re-used for the new access part.If the new access has a different functional behavior than an existingaccess, a new access part and a new user part must be developed tohandle the new access, but the existing central part may be re-used forthe new access part.

According to a second aspect of the invention, communication between twoparties is divided into two parts--the call and the connection. Asexplained above with reference to FIG. 3, the call is the actual datathat is transmitted between the parties, which is handled by the callhandling portion 310. The connection is the route through the systemthat the data takes, which is handled by the connection handling portion320.

As depicted in FIG. 6, the call may take the path 700 through thenetwork, and the connection may take another path 800. This implies thatcall handling and connection handling must be handled separately in asystem.

FIG. 7 depicts a functional view of the separation of the call path 700and the connection path 800 inside the call set-up server 300, accordingto a second aspect of the invention. When a call has been set up, achannel of physical equipment is needed to transfer data between the twoparties. The channel should be independent of the rest of the system,enabling upgrading of the channel hardware and software withoutaffecting the rest of the system.

According to a second aspect of the present invention the connectionhandling portion 320, also referred to as a channel allocator, isprovided for this purpose. The connection handling portion 320 has a mapof the transport network and routing information for the other parts ofthe transport network. It controls the connection to the equipment anduses the map to establish the connection of one half of the call, e.g.the sending end, to the other half of the call, e.g. the receiving end.With the help of the connecting reference points for the involvedparties, the connection handling portion 320 routes the call within thenetwork. Also, together with the requested bandwidth and the timeslotsused in time domain multiplexed interfaces, the connection handlingportion 320 dynamically reserves and connects bandwidths in thetransmission backbone 400.

When the system is configured, the physical connection point for eachexternal interface is given an identity. This identity is stored by thecall handling portion 310 when ordering a channel. The identity is notinterpreted by the call handling portion 310, but rather is transmittedfrom the call handling portion 310 to the connection handling portion320 across interface 315 when a data path is established. The identityis then interpreted by the connection handling portion 320. Bytransmitting the identity to the connection handling portion 320 forinterpretation, upgrading of connection handling can be performedwithout affecting call control.

The interface 315 between the call handling portion 310 and theconnection handling portion 320 must hide the details of the internalworkings of the connection handling portion 320. The interface 315facilitates following operations: reserve a channel between the givenidentities with the given quality, connect the reserved channel, revertthe state of the channel to reserved, and free the channel, withoutrequiring the call handling portion 310 to deal with the internalaspects of the physical connections set up by the connection handlingportion 320.

As explained above, the second aspect of the invention, as depicted inFIGS. 6 and 7, separates the call handling path from the connectionhandling or channel allocating path. This enables upgrading ofconnection handling hardware and software without affecting the rest ofthe system.

According to a third aspect of the invention, an additional element isadded to the architecture of the call set-up server 300. As depicted inFIG. 8, a service pointer (SP) 390 is added to the call set-up serversoftware architecture to enable new services to be added to the system,old services to be removed or modified, and to enable interactionbetween the services. The service pointer 390 is a separate element fromthe user access part 330 and the call handling portion 310, but it isconnected to the user related part 370 via interface 372 and to thecentral part 380 via interface 382. The interfaces 372 and 382 containsoftware which permits interaction of the service pointer 390 with theuser part 370 and the central part 380. The dotted lines in FIG. 8represent services.

The service pointer 390 is used together with the user related part 370to choose the relevant service to be executed. The service pointer 390will always start a new central part 380, one per requested service. Theservice pointer 390 may also start parts in the access or user relatedparts, 360 and 370, if needed, for example, if information to theterminal is to be presented in a new manner or the behavior of the usermust be modified such as supervising it to determine when it becomesfree. Since the service pointer is not interfaced directly to the accessrelated part 360, new access parts can be added without informing theservice pointer. Since the service pointer 390 is interfaced directlywith the central part 380, it can control interactions between theservices or central parts, represented by dotted lines in FIG. 8,without affecting the rest of the system.

The service pointer according to a third aspect of the present inventionsupports functional, structural, and implementation dependentinteractions. Functional interactions are specified in standards whichare independent of the implementation used. Structural interactionsdepend on the architecture used. Implementation dependent interactionsmay occur if code is written without regard to future developments or ifthe code is used for more than one purpose. The service pointer 390handles these interactions independently of each other. Since thestructure of the call set-up server software architecture, as depictedin FIG. 8 is simple, the number of structural interactions is lessenedcompared to earlier systems. Furthermore, as each service is implementedindependently of all others, the number of implementation dependentinteractions will decrease. The service pointer is thus able to permitsupplementary services to be added, removed or modified, permits accessparts to be added or modified, without affecting already existingservices and access parts, and enables services to interact with eachother without affecting the rest of the system. Additionally, the newaccess parts can be added without informing the service pointer.

One principle common to all aspects of the present invention, is the"half-call principle", in which a call is divided into two halves, andeach access in the call is assigned its own half call for trafficcontrol. The call handling is thus implemented as two half calls. Thehalf calls communicate by using a peer-to-peer protocol, called the calldialogue.

FIG. 9 depicts an example of the software architecture of the callset-up server employing the half call principle. The network traffic isdivided into two half calls, one for WAN, and one for IsoEthernet. Thetwo call halves communicate with a call dialogue 385. As depicted inFIG. 9, the use of call halves is intrinsic to the call set-up serverarchitecture. The traffic application is always divided into two callhalves, the originating call side, A, and the terminating call side, B.For the purposes of illustration, the originating call side, A, and theterminating call side, B, are depicted in FIG. 9 as referring to theIsoEthernet half call and the WAN half call, respectively. TheIsoEthernet half call parts include an access part 360, an interface365, a user part 370, an interface 375, and a central part 380. The WANhalf call parts include an access part 360', an interface 365', a userpart 370', an interface 375', and a central part 380'. The IsoEthernethalf call parts 360 and 370 are part of the user access portion 330. TheWAN half call parts 360' and 370' are part of the network access portion340. Both central parts 380 and 380' are part of the call handlingportion 310, and communicate with each other across a call dialogueinterface 385.

The half-call principle is important because it avoids constantlyincreasing the complexity of existing telecommunication applications andfunctions when adding a new application or function. Also, the half-callprinciple minimizes the problem of interaction between supplementaryservices when the different parties in a call use these services.

FIG. 10 depicts a functional view of the half call principle in anetwork, from a call set-up server perspective. Two types of calls arecontrolled, a call from an IsoEthernet terminal 100 to an IsoEthernetterminal 100, using two IsoEthernet half calls, and a call from anIsoEthernet terminal 100 to a WAN terminal, and vice versa, using oneWAN half call and one IsoEthernet half call.

Different parts are provided for the access parts in the IsoEthernethalf call and the WAN half call. In the IsoEthernet half call, theaccess part includes: network side state machines for the originatingand terminating call sides, an interface resource pool or channel pool,an encoder and a decoder between octet coded and symbolic layer 3messages, and equipment enabling communication to the access unit. Inthe WAN half call, the access part includes: state machines forcontrolling protocol on the WAN interface card for originating andterminating sides of a call, a resouce pool reserved for use whenbonding channels together to one broadband channel, a call set-up serverto access unit connection, an encoder and a decoder between symbolicmessages and the packed message to/from the WAN interface card software,equipment enabling communication to the WAN interface card, and arepresentation of the WAN interface card.

Different parts are also provided as user parts in the IsoEthernet andWAN half calls. The IsoEthernet user part includes: the IsoEthernetservice pointer, state machines for the user dependent part of theoriginating and terminating basic call service, a user informationobject, and the geographical limitation of a WAN call checker. The WANuser part includes: the WAN service pointer, state machines for the userdependent part of the originating and terminating basic call service,and the WAN user information object.

The basic call referred to above is a call that does not require anyauxiliary devices in the network and does not have any information as towhat kind of data the connection (data path) transports. The basic callis the most generic telecommunication service. The central part of theapplication architecture contains the state machines for the centralpart of originating and terminating basic call service and is common toboth call halves, the isoEthernet call half and the WAN call half.

To ensure that new services and physical equipment can be added to themultimedia system according to the present invention, so that it offersapplication modularity, etc., several well defined interfaces areprovided. These interfaces include: the user-access interface 365, thecentral service-user interface 375, the interface 385 between callhalves, and the interface 315 towards the connection handling portion320.

Flowcharts illustrating how a call and an answer may be transferredaccording to the present invention are depicted in FIGS. 11A and 11B. Asshown in FIG. 11A, at step 1000 an order is set up at a transmittingpoint for transferring a call to a destination point. The transmissionpoint and destination point can, for example, be two terminals, aterminal and a network, or a network and a terminal. The order to set upa call includes a destination number and information representing whattype of service is desired.

Next, at step 1010, the call is transferred from the transmitting pointto the transmitting access/user part. At step 1020, the transmittingaccess/user part determines how the call and the physical equipmentordering the call should be represented, determines if the destinationnumber is a valid number, determines if the user ordering the call isauthorized to order the call, and selects a service. The data istransferred at step 1030 to a call handling portion. As explained abovewith reference to FIG. 6, the call includes a call portion representingthe actual data to be transferred and a connection portion representingconnection points. At step 1040, the call handling portion handles thecall portion, including performing the selected service. The callhandling portion transfers the connection portion to the connectionhandling portion, ordering the connection handling portion to reserve aconnection. At step 1050, the connection handling portion reserves aconnection path for the call, based on the connection points representedby the connection portion. The call is then transferred at step 1060from the call handling portion to a destination access/user part. Atstep 1070 the destination access/user part interprets how the call isrepresented, identifies the user at the transmitting end, determineswhether or not the user at the destination end is authorized to receivethe call, and determines the service that has been selected. Then, atstep 1080, the call is transferred to the destination point.

At this point, the system is waiting for the call to be answered by thedestination point. As shown in FIG. 11B, the call is answered by thedestination point at step 2000. The answer includes information aboutthe destination point. The answered call information is transferred tothe destination access/user part at step 2010. Next, the destinationaccess/user part determines how the answered call information should berepresented at step 2020. The answered call information is thentransferred at step 2030 to the call handling portion. The answered callinformation includes a call portion representing the actual answeredcall data to be transferred and a connection portion representingconnection points. At step 2040, the call handling portion handles thecall portion, including performing the selected service. The callhandling portion then transfers the connection portion to the connectionhandling portion, ordering the connection handling portion to set up aconnection. At step 2050, the connection handling portion sets up aconnection path for the call, based on the reserved end points. Theanswered call information is then transferred at step 2060 from the callhandling portion to the transmitting access/user part. At step 2070 thetransmitting access/user part interprets how the answered callinformation is represented. Finally, at step 2080, the answered callinformation is transferred to the transmitting point. At this point, theconnection is established, and the system is waiting for further actionsfrom the transmitting point or the destination point, e.g. release ofthe established connection.

For example, referring to FIGS. 2, 9 and 10, assume a call is ordered tobe set up from the network terminal 100 to the WAN. The call istransferred to the the user access portion 330 in the call set-up server300. The call-setup server 330 includes the access related part 360 andthe user related part 370. The user access portion 330 determines how torepresent the call and orders a service. Next, the call is transferredto the call handling portion 310, which includes both the user centralpart 380 and the WAN central part 380', which communicate with eachother across call dialogue interface 385. The call handling portion 310handles the actual data portion of the call. The connection portion ofthe call is transferred to the connection handling portion 320 acrossinterfaces 315 and 315'. The connection handling portion 320 reserves aconnection path between the transmitting point and the destination pointand transfers the connection information to the connection path 800.Then, the call is transferred to the network access portion 340 whichincludes the WAN access related part 360' and the WAN user related part370'. The network access portion 340 interprets how the call isrepresented and the service that has been selected. Finally, the call istransferred to the WAN.

When the WAN answers, answered call information is transferred to thenetwork access portion 340, which includes the WAN access related part360' and the WAN user related part 370'. The network access portion 340determines how to represent the answered call information. Next, theanswered call information is transferred to the call handling portion310, which includes both the WAN central part 380' and the user centralpart 380, which communicate with each other across call dialogueinterface 385. The call handling portion 310 handles the actual dataportion of the answered call information. The connection portion of theanswered call information is transferred to the connection handlingportion 320 across interfaces 315 and 315'. The connection handlingportion 320 sets up a connection based on the reserved end points andtransfers the connection information to the connection path 800. Then,the answered call information is transferred to the user access portion330 which includes the access related part 360 and the user related part370. The user access portion 330 interprets how the answered callinformation is represented. Finally, the answered call information istransferred to the user, and the connection is complete.

According to the present invention, as described above, a communicationnetwork system is provided which overcomes the problems of the priorart. By separating service terminal behavior from the service ordered,it is possible to add new terminals without developing/changing existingservices. By separating the call handling and connection handling, theconnection handling hardware and software can be upgraded withoutaffecting the rest of the system, and the type of transmission backbonecan be changed without affecting the call handling portion. For example,the type of backbone may be ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), MVIP(Multivendo Integration Protocol) or any type of high speed LAN.Finally, a service pointer is provided which permits supplementaryservices to be added, removed, or modified and permits access parts tobe added or modified, without affecting already existing services andaccesses, and allows interaction between services without affecting therest of the system.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to particularembodiments that have been described and illustrated. For example, theinvention can also be employed for applications within IsoEthernetterminals. This invention further contemplates any and all modificationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of a setting up a call in acommunications network from a transmitting point to a destination point,the method comprising the steps of:ordering the call to be transferredfrom the transmitting point, transferring the call from the transmittingpoint to a transmitting access part, for determining how the call shouldbe represented and selecting a service, transferring the call, whichincludes a call portion representing the actual data to be transferredand a connection portion representing connection points, from thetransmitting access part to a call handling portion, handling the callportion in the call handling portion, including performing the selectedservice, and transferring the connection portion to a connectionhandling portion, reserving a connection between the connection pointsrepresented by the connection portion in the connection handlingportion, transferring the call portion from the call handling portion toa destination access part, interpreting how the call is represented andthe service that has been selected in the destination access part,transferring the call to the destination point, answering the call inthe destination point, transferring answered call information from thedestination point to the destination access part, for determining howthe answered call information should be represented, transferring theanswered call information, which includes an answered call data portionrepresenting the actual answer data to be transferred and an answeredconnection portion representing reserved connection points, from thedestination access part to a call handling portion, handling theanswered call data portion in the call handling portion, andtransferring the answered connection portion to the connection handlingportion, setting up a connection between the reserved connection pointsrepresented by the answered connection portion in the connectionhandling portion, transferring the answered call data portion from thecall handling portion to the transmitting access part, interpreting howthe answered call information is represented in the transmitting accesspart, and transferring the answered call information to the transmittingpoint.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein since the call handling portionhandles the call portion and the connection handling portion reservesand sets up the connection, upgrading of the connection handling portioncan be performed without affecting call handling.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the data comprises multimedia data.
 4. A call set-up serverfor setting up a call in a communication network from a transmittingpoint to a destination point, the call set-up server comprising:atransmitting access part for receiving the call from the transmittingpoint, determining how the call should be represented, and selecting aservice; a call handling portion for receiving the call from thetransmitting access part, wherein the call includes a call portionrepresenting the actual data to be transferred and a connection portionrepresenting connection points, and the call handling portion handlesthe call portion, including performing the selected service; aconnection handling portion for receiving the connection handlingportion of the call from the call handling portion and reserving theconnection between the connection points represented by the connectionportion;a destination access part for receiving the call portion fromthe call handling portion and interpreting how the call is representedand the service that has been selected; wherein the call is transferredto the destination point, the call is answered in the destination point,answered call information, which includes an answered call data portionrepresenting the actual answer data to be transferred and an answeredconnection portion representing reserved connection points, istransferred from the destination point to the destination access partwhich determines how the answered call information should berepresented, the answered call information is transferred from thedestination access part to the call handling portion, the call handlingportion handles the answered call data portion and transfers theanswered connection portion to the connection handling portion, theconnection handling portion sets up a connection between the reservedconnection points represented by the answered connection portion, thecall handling portion transfers the answered call data portion to thetransmitting access part, the transmitting access part interprets howthe answered call information is represented, and the answered callinformation is transferred to the transmitting point.
 5. The call set-upserver of claim 4, wherein the call handling portion handles the callportion and the connection handling portion reserves and sets up theconnection thereby upgrading of the connection handling portion can beperformed without affecting call handling.
 6. The call set-up server ofclaim 4, wherein the data comprises multimedia data.